Splurge

For a little over a year I've been a part of a Splurge group. Ten of us women who get together once a month, throw $20.00 in a pot and draw one of our names out of a hat. Whoever has their name drawn walks out with $200.00 to spend on herself in a "splurg-y" manner, and then hosts the next month's gathering, showing off her purchases or telling about how she spent the cash. It's wonderful for sooo many reasons.

First of all, it's a rare occasion for me to hold $200.00 cash in my hand that I have to spend on something I want! We don't really spend very frivolously in the Hansen household, so this is not something I'm used to.

Second, it's been a really fun outing for me to look forward to every month. I think even if I didn't get to spend the $200.00 on myself every year, it would be worth $20.00 a month just to have a really enjoyable evening with the girls to look forward to once a month. It's a pretty cheap boost to my social life.

Also, I had only been in Chilliwack for a few months when I was invited to join this fabulous group of ladies, and it's been an awesome way to really get to know other women who live here and are generally in the same stage of life as I am. This has really been the best part. I love our time together. We laugh so much and have really gotten to know a lot about each other. I'm so grateful.

One of the elements that I've loved the most, which I wasn't expecting was hosting the girls for my once a year shin-dig. Last year I had the girls all send me a song ahead of time that was meaningful for them and I put together a CD so we could tell our stories and take home a CD from the night. This year, I had grander plans, so I hosted an all-ladies murder mystery party. I was a little disappointed in the game itself, but not at all in the girls! As I expected, they got really into their roles and made the best of some lamely scripted moments, and we laughed, as usual, and had a super fun time. Five of the girls are currently very pregnant, and one was there with her newborn. (As mentioned, we're mostly all in the same stage of life...kids and babies galore...) But, despite their big baby bellies, they threw themselves into costume and character and we had another great night of memories.